Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Brake Problems

My March build 2004 with 1SC equipment group began having a mild brake problem at about 6000 miles. (I purchased the car in July). It stopped OK no problem there, but the brakes just felt sort of spongy. Eventually I realized that if I exerted enough pressure over time I could force the pedal to the floor.The service writer tried to convince me that this was normal but finally suggested that I try another CTS and I would see it was the same. So I did and it wasn't. Long story short there is a service bulletin 030525009A which deliniates the proper way to bleed the brakes to eliminate this behavior. They did this and problem solved. Also the windshield wipers were chattering in any condition except a blinding rainstorm a condition I have only encountered on GM cars. They replaced them and chattering has stopped.One thing I like about the CTS is the dealer is 12 miles 15 minutes from my house and so far has been very good. The closest Lexus dealer is about 75 miles away. Everyone says how good the Lexus is. In my case it could never be good enough.

Comments

"One thing I like about the CTS is the dealer is 12 miles 15 minutes from my house and so far has been very good. The closest Lexus dealer is about 75 miles away. Everyone says how good the Lexus is. In my case it could never be good enough."

There are several Cadiilac dealers close by for me to choose from, which is nice. Luckily for me, the Lexus dealer is a half mile down the road from the closest Cadillac dealer, so both are very accessible. I just visited my lexus dealer in fact to buy a set of all weather floor mats. Winter is coming and I'd hate to get thsoe nice carpeted mats all messed up with snow and slush. The dealer had the set specifically made for my GX right in stock.

Regarding the windshield wiper chattering. I encountered the same problem on several Corvettes that I owned and could never figure out what the reason was. I finally did. I had been using a fancy glass cleaner on it specifically designed for auto glass. It must have made the window just a bit less slippery when wet, resulting in the chatter. I began to have the problem on my CTS, and then for the heck of it tried regular Windex for cleaning my windshield, and before long, no more chatter. It was that fancy auto glass cleaner that was causing it all along.

I replaced my original Goodyear tires with Yokohama Avids, had them before on my wife's Buick Regal and liked them. What surprised me was upon replacing the tires, we discovered that the front brakes were just about down to nothing after only 23,600 miles. I definitely do not stomp on the brakes....I gradually "take the steam out" of the car as I approach a light or traffic up ahead so this was not what I expected. My mechanic tells me the brakes are softer to reduce stopping distance, consequently they wear down faster. I would advise that for those of you in that range of odometer reading, if you haven't already checked, it would be wise to do so before you take any long road trips. Great car though...I enjoy the ride, the smell, the luxury, the performance and its good looks.

I have a 2005 3.6L CTS that i purchased about a year ago. At 9300 mi I had brake problems. They replaced the master cylinder. about a month and 2000 mi later, I had problems with the brakes again. They fixed the brakes. I have 2 different problems with radio, which has been replaced twice and now they say that I have a problem with my tires and/or alignment. My front tires are basically bald and I am only at 17,700 mi. Has anyone experienced this many problems with a brand new CTS? Would you trust Cadillac/GM again?

I also have an '05 CTS. Get ready on the tires! This car chews them up. I am putting a new set on the car this week. I purchased wheels and tires which were new on ebay. These are wheels and tires off an STS. From some of the other posts, I don't think it makes a lot of difference whether you rotate them or not. Mine started the roaring at 15,000 and now I have 26,000. I have not had your other problems but it is in part relective of GM's sloppiness.

I have a 2003 CTS and there was a recall on the tires back in 2004. I had a Cadillac Service Department replace all 4 tires and they were all put on backwards! I just found this out, 2 years later! Although I know my gas mileage was affected, does anyone know what else this may have affected. It didn't seem to wear the tires down sooner but I am sure that having directional tires put on backwards has an effect on something. I believe the traction control was also effected but I am having alot of issues with this car and just looking for some advice. Thanks.

I am surprised that you are talking about the roaring. I have an '05 CTS with 26,000 miles. At this point, I have not had any repair problems but it is early yet. At 15,000 miles, my tires were cupped and roaring. I am replacing them the next week. I am going to try the recommended rotation every 5,000 and the alignment every 15,000 and see if the second run is better. It is ridiculous that a car would be designed with this type of alignment problem. I am not sure what the directional issue would do. My son had the same thing as you on a 2005 Civic and it affected the handling. If you have gotten 25,000 miles plus out of your tires, then I would not say you have worn them any more than normal. A guy was in the tire store here with a CTS-V and he has to replace his tires every 12,000. No wonder General Motors is in trouble. The Cadillac dealer is the one who has advised me on the rotation and alignment. He says the car has a very aggressive suspension. Wow!

I have a 2005 CTS, just went to the dealer for my annual NY State inspection, he advised me that I will need new brakes and tires soon. I thought that this was very unusual since the car only has 16,4000 miles and is 24 months old. Regarding the tires for some time I was able to hear a slight whooping sound, I will ask Goodyear if there is any warranty on what I think is premature wear. I did have the tires rotated three times already plus an alignment.Is this a normal problem on the CTS?

As I just reported I have 16,000 miles on my 2005 CTS and was astonished to learn that I need brakes and tires.My Cadillac dealer always tries selling me service I don't think I need, this past time nitrogen filled tires. I tend to be a skeptic now.

I have a Cadillac 2006 CTS 2.8L V6 . It has 35,184 miles. The Dealer qouted me $615 to replace front brake pads and rotors. I called around other Brake shops like Tire Kingdom and they qouted me $354. Should I trust that Tire Kingdom qouted me the right parts for my vehicle and that they would be just as good as the dealer parts? I priced the brake pads and rotors from the dealer parts depart at $149 and $300(for both rotors total). The dealer needed my vin# in order to price the brakes. Tire Kingdom only asked for the engine size information. He said he did not need the Vin#. If I went with Tire Kingdom would I get good service from their parts?

Tire Kingdom and the like.....get their parts from local autoparts stores....in my area that usually means NAPA....so you arent using Tire Kingdom branded parts..but rather other aftermarket parts.....dealers usually are higher across the board for parts.....labor runs the same I have found...shop around...ask questions....get the best deal.....

recently had a brake service done....fluid flush, two rotors replaced...pads all around and turn the rear rotors.....was just under $500.....for an 04 Chevy Malibu Maxx...at my local mechanic

I had a 2006 cts and when it got to about 28,000 miles off and on when I turned into a parking spot and put on the brakes it would make a grinding feel and would be hard to stop. It only did it once in a while. The dealer could find no problem and could not repeat it. The lease ended and I turned it in. NOW my 2007 is doing the same thing. It is only when I am turning sharp and going slow and it has done it turning both ways never going straight. Has anyone else ever had this problem? The dealer says they have never heard of the problem and this is the second cts to do the same thing at about 28,000 miles. They say the brakes and everything look ok. Anybody else have this problem?

My husbands car is a 2006 CTS, I am not sure of the milage but when i pulled in to a parking place I almost could not stop the car. It was as if my brakes did not work and were grinding.( the dealership has said the brakes are good). I do not drive the car often and this has happened to me 3 times. Two times in a parking lot and once at the stop light. I told my husband about it and he bluffed me off. It has now happened to him. Please reply if more people have the same problem.

They never fixed my 2006 and the lease ended but they did fix my 2007 after they had it a second time, the first saying the brakes were fine. It is a problem with the wheel spin sensor and the anti lock computer. On the 2007 the dealer could see the problem codes when they checked the cars system. I asked about why they could not find that on the 2006 and they said those codes where new in 2007. Since it was fixed it has not done it again. It was all covered under the 4/50,000.Its not a fun problem. My wife never drove the 2006 again after it did it and she almost hit a pole and they said there was no problem. She has a BMW now and loves it. Good luck.

This just happened to my 2007 CTS today. Pulling into parking space at about 3-4 mph and riding the brake. Suddenly the brake pedal goes to the floor and pulsating of ABS comes on and the car freely coasts into the car parked in front of me. Only damage to my license plate as it was so slow. Took it right to dealership, no problems on the way there. They said the computer would only tell them if it was a sensor if they could get it to happen while hooked up to diagnostics. Interesting to see what there conclusion will be. I cannot take the car back if they can't tell me they fixed the problem. Would be a more than a little scary while trying to stop at an intersection or for kids in the crosswalks while picking up/ dropping my kids off.

Dealership has stated that "cannot duplicate or identify the problem" and says probably just a one-time-thing. The vehicle is ready to be picked up. I informed them that I will not take possession without a signed statement from the service manager stating that the vehicle is safe for operation relative to this issue. Of course, they will not provide this and offer no other solution. Told them I will not be irresponsible and reckless (as they want me to be). I have called the customer assistance number that they provided, but after 25 minutes on the phone have little faith in that process as well. A "manager" is supposed to call me back.

At this point, it looks as though they may force me into a course of action that I really don't want to pursue. My requests to them have been simple: either fix the car, give me certification that it is safe, or take it back. Fear a long process from here.

Hello,Has the dealership fixed the other concerns on the vehicle? What I can do is have an agent look into this for you. In order to do that I will need the VIN, dealership, current mileage, and contact information. You can private message me all the information. Please also include when all the concerns did happen, and how long they have been going on for. Thank you,Mariah GM Customer Service

With respect to the stored code - I was told that it would only store the code relative to the ABS being activated if it was involved in a more significant collision. This was probably only 3mph. The only way to tell what it was doing was to have it happen again while they had it hooked up to their computer.

Well the dealer (Taylor Cadillac) and GM customer assistance have both proved useless on this issue. They both keep repeating "we cannot identify or duplicate the problem, therefore, there is nothing to fix. Yet neither will provide a statement declaring the vehicle to have safely operating brakes. I spoke to an Attorney that told me despite Ohio's tough Consumer protection laws, GM has been refusing to address serious issues hiding behind their recent bankruptcy. My wife and I have purchased/leased 4 new GM vehicles since 2001. We were about to purchase a 5th when this one comes off lease. We will never own another. Good luck rebuilding your brand GM.

They ran me around on my 2006 and never fixed it. It was leased and I turned it in. On my 2007 they said it was either the ABS antilock unit or the wheel spin sensor. They replace both because I just drove the car in circles hitting the brakes and it kept doing it about every forth time around. All the ABS problem codes it logged right together showed a problem and that is why they did something.Try that. I leased a 2010 last week, Red, It's a beautiful car and is still the most car for the money.We'll see how it goes.Good Luck.

We have had the same issue with our CTS (not stopped while turning sharply at very slow speeds - ie, into a parking space) and have been told it is a speed sensor issue.

The left wheel front hub/bearing/speed sensor on our CTS was replaced 4 times with the same issue (only found this out when we went over the records). Finally after the dealer recommended we do it a 5th time we pushed and now it sounds like it has been the computer all along. GM refuses to reimburse us for the 4 previous times or the computer (which failed under 20,000 miles while under warranty) because my in-laws were the original owner. If anyone can offer any ideas or help, would be much appreciated. I have been ridiculously disappointed by my Cadillac experience.

I am so glad to see you here and I hope you can talk some sense into your company.

We have been dealing with our dealership and GM directly and honestly it seems like they could care less. Despite the fact that one can find multiple reports of brake failure on the CTS at slow speeds in these circumstances and despite the fact that no repair seems to fix it (pointing toward a faulty computer from the beginning), we can't seem to get anyone to take this seriously.

I am paying for a new computer out of my own pocket because GM has no interest in fixing this problem and we are out of warranty, but even that I don't have a guarantee will fix things. But I have reported this to the NHTSA (last time the brakes failed after replacing the hub and having the dealer tell me it should be fine there were children in front of me) and I hope that they can look into this issue before there is a loss of life on the back of GM's inaction. I just want the company to take these complaints more seriously than they seem to at this time.

Hello,I apologize for the concerns that you have with your vehicle. Do you have a case number with GM? If so, what is the case number? Has the issue occurred after the dealership fixed your vehicle? Thank you,Mariah GM Customer Service.